The Magic Box, 1410 hours.

"Hi," grinned Dawn waving with one hand, and holding the blanket around her with her other hand. In the meantime, Giles had Anya call the Summers house to have Buffy come to the Magic Box instead of the Fair. While Anya nodded her head and dialled the Summers home number, Barry waved at Dawn, and then looked nervously at Tara and Willow who were holding their blankets tight around them. It wasn't too long before Barry heard Anya was speaking with Joyce on the phone and asking for Buffy. Anya then relayed a message to Joyce that Buffy had just left for the fair, and that she seemed worried about Dawn, Tara and Willow… and Joyce had no idea why. Giles rushed to Anya, and grabbed the phone from her. It was then, while Giles was talking to Joyce, that a very curious Anya walked up to Barry and then circled him while poking his arm, the lightning emblem, and then his chest with her finger.

"Hey!" exclaimed a frowning Barry as he spoke with his vibrating vocal chords. Frowning, then man then looked over Tara and Willow's shoulder to the deformed creature tied to a chair wearing a brown coloured cloak. Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, Barry turned his attention back to Anya who continued poking him with her finger while Giles was speaking with Joyce, telling her to get a set of clothes for Dawn, and then pick up Buffy since she shouldn't have gone too far from the house. He then asked her to meet him and the others in the Magic Box, and that everything would be explained, before putting the phone down as he stared at Barry.

"Amazing," said Giles as he fixed his glasses while he walked towards the man in the red suit, at the same time Willow and Tara were looking on with red faces of embarrassment. Giles was about to say something else when Barry excused himself, and rushed out… coming back a few seconds later with shirts that read 'I love Sunnydale' for Tara, Willow, and Dawn.

"Sorry," he said before stepping back as Tara, Willow and Dawn grabbed a hold of the shirts, "sometimes if I'm carrying someone, and they happen to wear something's that's slightly flammable then there's a bit of an issue. Or if I'm going too fast like just now… then clothes happen to go poof."

"It… it's ok," smiled Dawn nodding her head excitedly before leaning to the side and looking at Giles, "see, I told you he's cool."

"Since we're kinda, you know… got little under the blankets," said Willow nervously while looking down at herself, and then looking at everyone while nodded her head at Dawn and Tara, "I think we should put these on, and then get back out here."

"You girls should head to the back," said Giles pointing towards a door at the rear of the shop. Barry looked around while the three young women turned and walk away, and saw spell books, strange items in bottles, and power of different colours in different packets. It made him think that Giles and the others were really deep into cosplay, especially given the large jar of what he thought to be fake salamander eyes looking back at his as he walked past a table, and then down one step. Shuddering at the thought of salamander eyes, he turned to Anya who was still poking his shoulders while walking around him and staring at his costume. Once the rear door closed shut, Giles sighed before turning to the disguised Barry, and thanked him for saving Tara, Willow, and Dawn.

"I was around patrolling, about to leave the city when I heard screams," said Barry in his disguised voice as Anya walked back to Giles' side while saying out loud that it was possible that 'the Streak' was a low level demon, given Dawn's description of the 'portal'. Barry just listened as Anya spoke as if he wasn't there, with Giles occasionally glancing at him. Barry had a deep frown as Anya continued to refer to him as a lower demon when the rear door opened once again and the three young women walked out.

"I'm not a demon," said Barry shaking his head and waving his arms while Tara, Dawn, Willow walked up to Giles and asked what they had missed. Anya got the three young women up to speed while Barry said, "I mean I told Dawn that I'm not a demon, and…"

"Then how are you running so fast without having demonic abilities?" asked Anya turning back at him questioningly while folding her arms over her chest.

"Ummm…. He's not a demon," said Tara as she lifted her arm up, "I.. I mean…"

"Thank you," examined Barry as he pointed at Tara, and then looked at the others, "see, I'm not a… wait a second… how do you know I'm not a demon?"

Barry listened, in surprise, as Tara told him that she had seen his aura, that it was a very unique aura with yellow lightning crackling around it. She reiterated that his aura was still human, and that she didn't feel any evil coming off it… that there was nothing demonic.

"Yellow lightning, on my…. Oh," said Barry, his eyes wide open in surprise as he interrupted Tara. He saw Tara give him a small smile before looking away, it was then that Barry realized that Tara knew that the Streak and Barry Allen were the same. Barry shook his head, telling himself that while he had seen a lot of strange things since becoming the Flash, aura reading was something he never thought possible. Barry then changed the subject, and repeated Tara's claim that he wasn't a demon.

"Are you certain, Tara?" asked Giles. And Tara nodded her head.

Barry gave her a small smile and nodded his head, and he made a mental note to thank her for not revealing his real identity. Barry then repeated what Tara had told him back at the Fair, that Dawn was in danger.

"And I could have sworn that lady say she's a god," said Barry pointing his thumb at the door behind him, "I mean… come on, right? It's a… I mean I've had my fair share of an immortal mad man, a couple who was reincarnate over four thousand years, and of course meta-humans.. but not a god. Well…"

Willow and Tara looked at each other, and then at a surprised Giles while Barry told them about his friend Oliver who was the one who had just dealt with a mad man trying to take over his city using death as a power source, "but never a god. I mean people say that they're a god so that…"

"She is a god," answered Dawn. The tone of her voice made Barry stop talking and look straight at the young girl.

"I think we should wait until Buffy gets here," said Willow as Barry tilted his head. He remembered Buffy from the hospital, and the dinner at her house, and when she'd come with Willow and the others to the Espresso Pump, but he was confused as to why they all had to wait until she arrived.

'Maybe because Dawn's her step-sister?' thought Barry to himself recalling what Dawn had told him the first day he arrived on this particular Earth.

"Sooo…" said Willow as she tried to change the topic away from conversations of gods, magic, and demons, "how fast can you go? Wait, how is it that your suit doesn't… oh, wait… that's a friction proof suit, isn't it? That's why it doesn't burn up. And… oh, oh, how about the lightning? Is that because you…"

"Breathe," said Tara as she patted the babbling Willow on her back.

"I should check out the fair for any other injuries," said Barry as he started to take a step back. He needed to know what was going on, and he couldn't really tell them anything about how he got his powers… at least not yet.

"But…."

"There's a friend of ours," said Dawn as Barry looked at her, "his name is Barry, he should have gone out of there when the running and the screaming started but… but can you make sure he's safe?"

"I'll try, and…"

"Please," begged Dawn, "he saved my mom, so…"

"I'll get him home if I find him," assured Barry before he glanced over at the small smile on Tara's face.

Barry then turned and zoomed out of the shop, leaving a gust of wind in his wake that made every take a few steps back before leaving everyone looking stunned at the door shutting on its own. While Tara and the others were standing around trying to come up with something to say, Barry was at the entrance to the Fair. He had run past many cars and even a man walking around in a red dress, but the young man didn't think much about it. However, there was something niggling in the back of his mind, that the dress was familiar somehow. Barry was thinking about stopping, but decided against it when the thought vanished from his head. Upon reaching the Fair, the first thing Barry did was to run around and search for any injured people.

And he found a few, the ones who Glory had attacked after she was thrown into the cart earlier were still lying on the ground unconscious, while an officer was mumbling incoherently… just like the mentally ill man at the hospital the day Barry took Joyce to the hospital. Barry first felt for pulses, and when he did.. he ran them, and the officer, up to Sunnydale Mercy at super-speed. Once everyone was brought to the hospital, much to the surprise and whispers of the people in the lobby upon actually seeing Barry in his costume and in person instead of on the newspaper, Barry returned to the Fair grounds. He zipped through the grounds searching for other wounded, and then finally he stopped at the spot where Glory was injured.

He crouched down and looked out for any specks of blood that he could collect and then run tests on by running into the police department later that night. But he found nothing, which made him even more confused. He knew that Glory must have felt the full blast of the sonic boom, and that she should be bleeding from the ears and nose.

But there was nothing as he scanned the immediate area with his eyes.

Frowning, Barry's thoughts then returned to what could have happened to Kelly. He stood up and wondered why she wouldn't be here when she had been the one asking him out for nearly a month, and he remembered the smile on her face as when he agreed to accompany her to the fair.

'So I know that she was definitely looking forward to it,' thought Barry to himself while standing on the grass, 'so where could she be?'

Barry then ran off, grabbing his bag on the way at the entrance behind the barrels, through the streets and weaving past one car after another as he headed for the Espresso Pump. He changed into his civilian clothes just before reaching the Espresso Pump, and ran normally around the corner of the coffee shop. Barry ran up the stairs and asked the Baristas' on duty if they had heard from Kelly, but they shook their heads.

With no other choice, Barry guessed that he would have to go to her address. He ran out of the Espresso Pump, and then zoomed out at super-speed towards Kelly's apartment. He ran up to her floor and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Rubbing the back of his head in worry, Barry looked around before attempting to vibrate.. but immediately thought against it. Instead, he made a mental note of the apartment's location, and then zipped out of the floor. He ran out of the entrance, and then made a tight turn before running up the wall. With everything at slow motion, Barry looked in through the window, and into Kelly's bedroom which had already been made. It was as if there was no-one at home. Running back down the wall, Barry ran through the city at super-speed searching every road and alleyway for the young woman.

And he did find her. At least her body.

It was last night that Kelly had asked Barry to go with her to a local club called the Bronze, which had recently undergone a renovation of its interior due to a gang bust-up. He told Kelly that he had heard about that, but what he didn't tell her was that he was in Santa Barbara as the Flash and had only heard about it the next day. Back in the present day, Barry recalled saying 'no' to Kelly, and that he would meet her at the Fair instead. And now, he was crouched down in front of Kelly's pale body which was slumped against a wall in the alley alongside the Bronze. Her body was behind a dumpster, her eyes open and looking out into nothingness. Barry was shocked at the drained body in front of him, and then noticed the dried bite marks on her neck. Shaking his head in disbelief as a part of his mind started to play on the idea that this could be the work of a vampire, a being of fiction, and just as quickly told himself it wasn't possible.

'But then again, Dawn and her friends think I'm some kind of a demon,' thought Barry to himself while closing her eyes with his fingers. Looking at the woman one last time, Barry zipped to a payphone, and then made an anonymous tip to the police. To make sure that Kelly's body wasn't alone, he watched from a distance undetected for several minutes until the police came, and took away the body. He then ran off… a blur with lightning, towards the Magic Box.

He wanted answers on what was going on in the city.

Magic Box, ten minutes later.

"Dawn!" Buffy was the first one out of the Jeep, followed by a rushing Joyce, before they ran through the door of the Magic Box, and towards the young girl who was sitting with Tara and Willow at the table. Dawn got up, and hugged her sister who was asking her, Tara, and Willow if they were alright. And if Glory had hurt them in any way.

"The Streak saved us," said Dawn as she hugged her mother tightly while Buffy looked questioningly at Dawn, and then at Tara and Willow who nodded their heads, confirming what the young brunette had said. Giles and Anya then pitched in saying that the Streak had saved all three of them from Glory, and then Dawn and Willow told Buffy what happened at the Fair. It was just as Willow was about to finish, that there was a gust of wind from behind Buffy and Joyce who turned around to see Barry in his red suit.

"See," said Anya pointing at Barry, "I told you, demon powers."

"Not a demon," said both Barry and Tara at the same time.

"Did you find Barry?" asked Dawn.

"He's safe," replied Barry, his voice disguised while Buffy knitted her brow and walked around him. Barry, for his part, glanced over at Tara who was covering the smirk on her lips with her hand. Barry then looked back at Dawn and told her that he had taken 'Barry' home. As Dawn breathed a sigh of relief, Barry looked over at Buffy, who was to his left, and watched her looking him over before walking backwards towards Joyce and the others, "and you must be Buffy?"

"This is Buffy, my sister," said Dawn as she poked her shoulder, and then grabbed Joyce's hand, and introduced her to Barry.

"Ma'am," said Barry nodding his head towards Joyce.

"H… hi," said a still shocked Joyce, "umm… thanks for saving Dawn. And Tara and Willow."

"It was nothing," added Barry before he turned to Buffy, "although it would be nice to know what's going on."

"That's my line," Buffy said with a frown, "just what is going on? Look, thanks for saving Dawn and my friends, but we don't know you… or if you really work for Glory and…"

"I don't," added Barry shaking his head.

"He doesn't, Buffy," said Tara gently, "he's telling the truth."

"But can we risk it?" asked Buffy as she turned to Tara, "I mean… he came out of the portal from whatever hell dimension he came from and…"

"Ummm… again, not a demon here," said Barry sheepishly before frowning, "and why is it that everyone thinks I'm a demon?"

"A portal out of nowhere?" asked Buffy waving her hands while tuning back to Barry, "and…"

"I got my powers because of a particle accelerator explosion that released dark matter into the atmosphere," said Barry while the others looked on confused, "the dark matter energy seeded a storm cloud, and I was struck by lightning. I was in a coma for nine months, and when I woke up… I had these powers."

"That's not possible," said Willow knitting her eyebrows together, "something like that.. I mean, we would have heard about it. It would've been on the news."

"That's because I'm from another Earth," said Barry as Buffy and Tara looked at each other, the surprise showing on both of their faces before the Slayer turned to Willow, who put her hands up and swore that she wasn't the one who brought him to Sunnydale.

"I mean… I don't think I did," said Willow as she looked away, deep in thought for a few seconds, before turning to Buffy and shaking her head. All the while, Barry looked at her confused, "I mean that whole thing with the other me was a fluke, and… well, he came here before Olaf.. so… yeah. Definitely not me."

"Huh?" asked Barry. The man in red then shook his head before telling them that on his Earth, he was called the Flash. Barry knew that Dawn and Joyce were aware his parents had been killed, so to prevent them from guessing his identity, Barry told them that he was testing how fast he could go… and had somehow made it to another Earth, "I mean this isn't the first time something like this happened."

"You've been to other Earths?" asked a surprised Giles as he fixed his glasses, "without any magic?"

"Well," said Willow who was deep in thought before Barry could answer, "technically if someone could move fast enough… and I mean really fast, they could open a breach into another world. I mean, it's a theory and…"

"So… hold on…" said Anya shaking her head, "you, the Flash.. or the Streak.. are telling us that you got here by running? Just by running?"

"Yep," said Barry nodding his head, the redhead remaining him of Wynn on Kara's Earth, "and.. well, I've tried to open a breach again, but for some reason… I can't."

"How fast have you gone?" asked Willow as she walked past Buffy.

"Mach fourteen… ish?" replied Barry as he looked at the redhead frowning and looking off to the side while playing with her fingers. It was then he realized he had seen Cisco do something similar when he was running calculations in his head. Then Willow mumbled 'wow', before telling Barry that he was really fast… but she didn't know if that would be enough to open a breach.

"I've got no choice but to wait for a friend to contact me," said Barry shrugging his shoulders. He then told them about Cisco, and his ability to look into the multiverse; something that he saw surprised Anya especially. She and Willow looked at each other, the both of them thinking about having sent Olaf, the troll, away using magic a few weeks ago when someone who generates portals could have been even more useful.

"So you're stuck here?" asked Joyce, "how about your friends, family?"

"They're all on my Earth," said Barry, his voice still disguised, "but I helped fight crime in my city, so… yeah…"

"Wish we just had crime," whispered Buffy before looking over at Giles. The both of them looked at each other wondering if the Flash could be trusted with the truth about Sunnydale, and then they looked at Dawn, who was smiling at Barry. Despite Giles and Buffy not talking out loud, the one thing they knew the other agreed with was to keep Dawn safe. Giles then nodded at Buffy, silently telling her that Barry had a right to know the truth about the city. In other words, he was telling her to trust Tara's judgement… that if the Flash had been lying, then Tara would have told them.

"Do you have a real identity that…"

"It's called a secret identity for a reason, Buffy," smiled Barry.

"Alright, Flash… what do you know about magic and demons?"

Barry told her what he had already told the others, that he had faced the mystical in the form of an immortal, and two four-thousand year old reincarnated super-heroes. He told them about the prevented extinction level event that was nearly caused by a madman who used mystical means to power himself using the deaths of people; and he mentioned the fact that he was beaten by Oliver and his team. Barry told them that he usually handled meta-humans who were changed by the particle accelerator disaster in Central City, and that his exposure to the supernatural and mystical was extremely limited. However, Barry knew that wasn't the truth either… he had been inside the Speed Force itself, and while he couldn't understand fully the nature of the source of his powers… Barry knew that there was a mixture of science and mysticism involved.

But he wanted to keep knowledge about the Speed Force with himself, at least for now.

As for Buffy, she had been staring at Barry with a mixture of surprise and awe about the things the Flash had been facing with back in his city. Part of her wanted that life, to fight normal crime instead of battling demons, vampires, and gods; of pushing back one apocalypse after another with the threat of death hanging over her head. She was scared that one day, she wouldn't be able to come home to Joyce and Dawn.. and that terrified her still.

'I did die once,' thought Buffy to herself as she looked at Dawn, and then at Barry, 'not anymore. I hope.'

"Giles?" said Buffy before asking where Xander was, with Anya telling her that he was at work.

"Flash," said Giles, once Anya had stopped talking, as he fixed his glasses on his nose, "the world… at least this world… is older than anyone knows. It didn't start off as a paradise as many people think."

Barry listened in stunned silence as Giles talked about the Earth being Hell for demons and monsters eons ago. That there were great beings.. pure demons, that walked, flew, and slithered all over the land and seas.. that they would go to war with each other, and kill, and destroy. Barry listened as Giles told him about the Old Ones, the Hellmouth under Sunnydale, the existence of Magic… to which Willow gave a demonstration of creating a ball of light in the palm of her hand – something that amazed Barry – followed by Buffy telling Barry what she was; a Slayer.

"One girl in all the world," said Buffy as Barry looked at her in surprise, "at least that's the story. I die, and another girl gets selected. She dies, and then there's another one and so on."

"Wow," replied Barry as he rubbed the back of his head. Buffy had already told Barry that she had been battling evil for nearly six years, and had her friends to help her in the battles. Willow then proudly told Barry that Buffy prevented a lot of apocalypses over those years, saving the entire world in turn. Barry, for his part, was amazed as he listened to stories of what Buffy had done.. and he couldn't help but admire the young blonde who was looking back at Giles, and then at her other friends. Buffy then looked back at Barry after they were done, and then at Dawn, and back at Barry with apprehension on her face as she mentioned the name of the god that was after them.

"The woman who came after Dawn, Tara, and Willow," said Buffy, 'her name's Glory."

"She said she was a god, which is…"

"She is a god," Buffy reassured Flash, "I wasn't able to beat her; Tara, Willow and Dawn told me what you did, and even you weren't able to beat her. We received some information that.. that's told us she's nearly unkillable."

"Let's say that she is a god," said Barry, "she has to have a weakness, right? I mean…"

"She's in a human vessel," said Giles.

"That's why she doesn't have any of a regular godlike powers like lightning or fire shooting out of her hands," said Anya, "and… well… do you think you can take me out on a run. I mean Tara and Willow got to go, so…"

"Maybe another time?" asked Barry as Anya nodded her head. Barry then turned to Dawn, and asked why she was so important.

Near the Sunnydale Cultural Fairgrounds, at that same moment.

Buffy didn't want to tell him about Dawn being the Key, so while she thought of an explanation, she continued to tell Barry about the dangers that Glory represented to them, and to the world. In the meantime, Ben was stumbling along the street while wearing a red dress. He was dazed, but caught glimpses in his memory of a man in a red suit, of a frightened Tara, Willow, and Dawn before recalling the claim made by the insane man at the hospital that he could see a green light swirling inside Dawn. He grabbed his head with both hands and screamed when he perceived a memory of Glory smiling at her minions before telling them to find the newest person in Buffy's group; that the newest person was the key.

"No, no, no, no, no," begged Ben as he got onto his knees just as five police cars were driving towards him. They were on the way to the Fair when the first two stopped, and the other three went onwards past them. Ben looked at the men, two from each car, fully armed as they got out while he was begging them to stay away… that 'she' was coming.

"Sir…, you…." once of the officers said just before Ben whispered it was too late. That it was about time. Then he changed form and a smiling, but panting, Glory appeared in his place.

"What an idiot," hissed Glory as she walked towards the officers with a slight limp, "he thought he could keep me away from my Key."

"Miss," said one of the officers holding out his hand, "we need to get you to…"

"Shut up!" yelled Glory as she approached him and, before he could even take out his gun, the god had her hands buried in his head. The woman absorbed his mental energy, and she felt herself strengthening when she felt various objects stinging against her body. She glared at the officers as they fired their tasers at her before she finished absorbing the officers energy. He then fell to the ground babbling incoherently while Glory moved on to the man's partner. Glory tore off the leads that had been sticking to her dress from the Taser weapons, and broke the man's neck before rushing to the third officer, and then tearing his head off while screaming that "I saw him up close and personal! He's from another world! Like me! And he wants the Key all to himself!"

"M… Miss," stuttered the final officer whose hands were shaking at the deaths around him, and then he stared at the officer who was slowly getting up and started o mumble about kittens. The final officer turned back to Glory and took out his sidearm, and aimed it at Glory who tilted her head and smiled.

"Look, meatbag.. I'm not in a…"

There was a bang, and Glory's head was pushed back as a bullet from the gun hit her forehead. Sighing, Glory looked back down at the officer who dropped his weapon and stepped back.. his body shaking as the flattened bullet fell off Glory's forehead and onto the grass.

"You know, it's about time for the Key to be used," said Glory as she zipped in front of the last officer, and grabbed the sides of his head with her hands. She then placed her forehead on his, and whispered that she was going to make a deal… that 'he' would have the opportunity to use the Key with her… that they were kindred spirits; the fact was that the both of them weren't home, "do you know how lonely it's been? The pain of suffering in this human stench?"

"I… I…" said the officer shaking his head.

"Why am I telling you any of this?" hissed Glory before she fed on the man's mental energy, "if he doesn't take the deal? Well, he's gone… the Slayer's gone… the world will be gone while I get to go home."

As the officer fell onto the grass mumbling incoherently, Glory thought about all the places that Buffy and the others could be. Smiling as she remembered the Magic Box, and the fact that she had seen some of Buffy friends there the day she bought the items to complete the a ritual to call upon Sobek. Glory smiled and then ran all the way there.

Magic Box, two minutes later.

Barry was listening to Giles finish talking about the various dangers present in Sunnydale, and he was about to talk to them about Kelly, when there was a gust of wind behind him. He turned around and zipped back just as Buffy jumped back, along with Tara and the others. Everyone was near the stairs while glaring at the woman in red standing next to the counter and smiling at them.

Barry glanced over at Buffy as she rolled her hands into fists, and then at Glory who was looking back directly at him.

"I should have been able to tell," said Glory as she tilted her head at Barry, "well, I'll admit you surprised me with that sucker punch, and then me hitting you and… let's forget about that. I should have been able to tell instantly that you're not from this world, am I right?"

"How'd you know?" asked Barry.

"I'm a god," said Glory nonchalantly before waving her hands, "now, I have a deal for you."

"What deal?" asked Barry.

"You help me get the Key, and we can use it to get our own homes," said Glory as Barry looked on in surprise. He looked at a suddenly worried Buffy, who continued to glare at Glory, before he looked back at a worried Dawn and Joyce who were holding hands. Barry glanced over at Tara, who was shaking her head discretely, before Barry turned to look at Glory.

"What's the Key?" he asked.

"That scrumptious thing over there," said Glory as she pointed her finger towards Dawn.

"Dawn?" asked Barry, "I don't…"

"She doesn't exist," said Glory as Barry looked at a frightened Dawn who looked back at him. Barry then looked at a very worried Giles, Anya, Willow, and Tara who was shaking her head discretely. Barry then glanced over at Buffy who was telling Glory to shut up.

"She does exist," yelled Buffy, "she's my sister, and…"

"She… I'm sorry… it is just a ball of energy, an important ball of green Keyness," mocked Glory as she looked at Buffy, Dawn, and then she continued talking to Barry who turned back towards her, "we can use her. Tomorrow, the stars will align.. the day to use the key will be upon us."

"I…." thought Barry to himself as he shook his head. It had been a month since he arrived on this Earth, and so far Cisco wasn't able to find him and bring him home. But now there was a way, a way home using a girl he barely knew… a girl who Glory was claiming to be a mystical object. A mystical object who Buffy had just claimed was a human being, and her sister. Barry knew that everyone was waiting for him; Iris, Joe, Caitlin, Wally, and Cisco… all of them were waiting for him to come home.

"You touch my sister," said Buffy as she glared at Glory while she stepped back to stand by Dawn's side, and then she glared at Barry who was looking at her, "I don't care how fast you are, I will kill you."

From Buffy's eyes, Barry knew that she would; he knew that she meant every word.

"What'll happen to Dawn?" whispered Barry as he continued to look at Dawn, while already afraid of the answer.

"She'll become what she really is, a ball of green energy that'll open doorways to every single dimension… every single reality," said Glory with a maniacal grin on her face, "she'll fade out of existence, and the spell that those stupid monks did to create her will go away. Everyone will forget that she ever existed."

"She'll die," whispered Barry as he faced Glory.

"You can see it that way if you want to," said Glory, her jaw already set. She was prepared for Barry to refuse her, she was ready to go on the offensive first and attack, "but you and I? Two beings away from home? We'll finally go home… you'll be with the meatbags who you care for, and I'll be in my dimension taking it over."

With a stinging pain in his chest, Barry turned to Dawn who already had tears in her eyes. He then looked at the rage in Buffy's eyes as she prepared to attack.

'Sorry, Iris,' thought Barry to himself as he looked away, and turned to Glory, "no."

"No?" asked Glory as Buffy turned to Willow and the others, telling them to use the rear door, and get out of the building to safety, "no?!"

Buffy turned to an enraged Glory who had her hands rolled into fists.

"Go!" yelled Buffy at her mother, sister, and friends, when suddenly there was a gust of wind, followed by a scream of anguish from Glory who turned towards the door as a glimpse of yellow lightning made a left turn. She turned back to Buffy, who just then noticed that both Dawn and Joyce were missing. She turned to Glory and rushed at her while yelling at Giles and the others to get out.

"But Buff…."

"Out!" yelled Buffy at Willow as she punched Glory. The god and Slayer fought, with Buffy getting a few hits in, however it was Glory who had the upper hand. For every punch from Buffy that landed, Glory hit her twice as hard. The Slayer was thrown onto the stairs, followed by Buffy getting up, kicking Glory off her. The blonde Slayer then dashed towards the table, picked it up, and slammed the table onto Glory. Stumbling back just for an instant, Glory would then proceed to hit Buffy harder and harder, even throwing her against the book shelves across from the counter. Groaning in pain as she got up from the floor, Buffy ran and tackled Glory to the floor before sitting on her waist, and then punching her face repeatedly. Glory then grabbed Buffy's hands mid-punch, laughed, and threw her clear into a large glass case that contained various items, including a hammer.

The same hammer that Buffy had taken from Olaf, the troll god. Buffy's body shattered the glass, with a large piece stabbing into her left arm. She fell onto the floor, with the hammer next to her as Glory walked past her prone body, and towards the middle of the shop. Buffy raised her head, and looked at Glory slapping the minion awake before pointing her hand towards the exit. Buffy heard her tell the deformed minion to gather everyone else, and kill Buffy's friends as punishment for hiding the Key once again. Buffy got up slowly as Glory tore away the minions ropes, and looked on as he ran out the rear door.

"Kill the blithering idiot, too, that Xan… whatever… KILL THEM ALL!" howled Glory as the rear door closed. She then head a creaking sound behind her, smiled, and turned around just as she was hit by a hammer Buffy had swung into her. Glory felt pain as the hammer hit, and she was flung into a book shelf. Glory fell on the floor, and slowly got up hissing at Buffy; but before she could do anything, Buffy swung the hammer, and hot Glory with enough force for her to fly into the table containing all the magical power, and the eye of salamander bottle; the contents of which were now all over Glory as she slowly got up. Her hair was wet, and salamander eyes were all over her head and her dress. However, the amazing thing was that Buffy saw the woman bleeding.

Buffy saw blood coming out of her ears, nose, the sides of Glory's mouth. The Slayer saw the bruises that were forming as Glory stumbled back in a daze.. while threatening her, that she was going to die… that she was going to rip her guts out and use them an a necklace.

"After I kill your sister," sneered Glory while wiping the blood off her face.

"Shut up!" yelled Buffy as she used all of her power to swing the hammer at the partially dazed Glory. Buffy slammed the hammer into Glory so hard that she was flung out of the shop window, shattering it in the process and landing in the middle of the street. Buffy locked her jaw tight in rage as Glory still had the strength to get up. However, the god seemed even more dazed than ever.

"You… will…" hissed Glory, "I… I will suck you dry, and…"

"I don't swing that way," said Buffy jumping through the window frame and landing on the shattered glass. She then dashed towards the god, swinging the hammer behind her, over her shoulder. But just as she was about to swing the hammer into the side of Glory's face, she stopped. Even Glory stopped talking and turned to her right, and looked into the distance. She and Buffy heard the roaring sound of thunder in the distance, and then Buffy saw what seemed like a lightning bolt hit Glory… followed by a bloodcurdling female scream as Glory flew backwards, and hit a distant shop. She went through that, and then ended up in another building that practically collapsed on her.

Stunned, Buffy turned to Barry who was standing, and panting, in the red suit.. with smoke coming off from all over his body.

"Hey," said Barry before he fell on one knee nursing his right fist, panting as Buffy rushed over to him, the hammer still in her hand.

"What the heck was that?" asked Buffy as she grabbed him by the arm, and helped him up to his feet, "and where's…."

"Miami," said Barry as he looked at Buffy who raised an eyebrow, "I guessed you wanted them far away?"

"Yea, but… I mean… you ran to Miami, and…"

"It made sense," said Barry winching, afraid that Buffy may hit him with the hammer. He had seen Buffy just before hitting Glory with a high-hypersonic punch… she was standing still holding the hammer with blood on it, and then he saw a badly beaten and bruised Glory who was bleeding. But Barry didn't stop, he hit Glory at the solar plexus.. and he actually felt her sternum and ribs cracking before Glory was sent flying backwards. That was what he was thinking while telling Buffy that Dawn and Joyce's clothes had burned off just as they reached Miami, and he had to procure some clothes for them before telling them that he'll be right back, "and here I am."

"Not bad," said Buffy impressed.

"Well, you and that hammer thing kinda beat her to a pulp," said Barry.

"Yeah," replied Buffy placing the handle of the hammer on her shoulder, "took care of her… softened her up for that thing you did."

Barry chuckled before nodded towards the injured Glory, "want to check her out?"

"Yea," said Buffy as Barry grabbed her shoulder, and then zipped to the partially collapsed store. Barry stopped, and held a dazed Buffy steady. He apologized while the Slayer said that she wasn't dazed from the run, that it was something else as she grabbed her head. It was then that Barry shook his head too, and started to recall the fight with Glory at the Fair. He remembered her red dress, and then he remembered the man he passed while running back to the Fair after saving Dawn, Tara, and Willow.

'They had on the same dress,' thought Barry to himself, 'the tears on the dress were exactly the same, but… but why didn't I put two and two together, why…?'

"Bu… Buffy," groaned a male voice inside the collapsed building as Buffy cautiously stepped inside, her head suddenly clear. Buffy and Barry walked into the building, and saw a man in a red dress lying in the corner, the sunlight hitting him thanked to the entire collapsed front part of the building, "Are.. are… you…"

"Ben?" gasped Buffy before she ran to him. Barry followed her and looked down at the man who was heavily bruised, and coughing blood. Buffy pushing the debris that was on him away, and then kneeled next to him. She then noticed the dress, and then with her eyebrows knitted together, she asked him why he was wearing a dress that looked just like Glory's.

"The… the spell…" muttered Ben as he struggled to speak while he grabbed Buffy's hand, "it.. it should be lifting. I… I can feel… dying."

"You're Glory?" asked Barry confused while Buffy closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Both… share… share body," gasped Ben, "I… prison… I.. I die… she… she dies.. and… and I… dying."

"You're Glory," said Buffy as she looked at the dress, and then at Ben's battered and bleeding face. She then gritted her teeth, and shook her head before glaring at him, "I…"

"So… sorry," said Ben just as his hand let go of Buffy's arm, and fell onto the floor. Barry looked at the dead man, and then at Buffy who was staring at Ben's body before standing up, and then taking a step back.

"Glory's minions are going after my friends now," whispered Buffy.

"Let's go?" asked Barry as Buffy looked at him.

"Let's go," said Buffy before taking a last look at Ben.

TBC.